Burton and Uttoxeter MP Andrew Griffiths is unlikely to be present at a meeting taking place tonight at which Tories were hoping to grill him about the sex text scandal.

Party sources said Mr Griffiths would not be attending the showdown meeting of East Staffordshire Conservative Association at the Pirelli Stadium, in Burton, which got under way at 7pm tonight, Monday, August 6.

It is understood members will have a forum to give their views on whether or not they feel his his position as MP was tenable, but no decision on his future in the Tory party will be made tonight and it is thought no votes will be cast.

Top East Staffordshire Tories, including borough council leader Richard Grosvenor and association chairman Conor Wileman, are at the meeting.

The Burton Mail is at the venue and has spoken to some members ahead of the meeting as they arrived.

Councillor Grosvenor said: "I am not sure we can take any action this evening. I am not sure there is an appetite from some members to take any action."

Another Councillor, Mick Bowering said: "I am not a fan of his behaviour. I want to learn about what is being said at the meeting before I can say anything.

"I certainly do hope he will attend."

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Gary Raybould, a Tory candidate for Tutbury, said: "It is a shame because the man has done a lot of work in the town and unfortunately when you live life in the public sector you live that role. You take the positives and the negatives."

Mr Griffiths was last month exposed for sending 2,000 sexually-explicit text messages to two barmaids, just months after his wife, Kate, gave birth to their first daughter, Alice.

One of the recipients of the messages was 28-year-old Winshill barmaid Imogen Treharne.

As a result of the scandal, Mr Griffiths has already resigned as minister for small business, but has not stepped down as Burton’s MP, saying he wants to stay in the role and continue his work of the last eight years.

Journalists outside the Pirelli Stadium (Image: Burton Mail)

He is currently suspended from the Conservative Party pending an investigation.

Mr Griffiths previously said he was due to "seek professional treatment" after his messages were exposed in the Sunday Mirror on July 15.

Last week, around 100 people turned out to a protest calling for Mr Griffiths to resign as an MP in Burton.